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Chris Chibnall confirms he's returning for a third series of 'Doctor Who'

Chris Chibnall, left, and Jodie Whittaker arrive at the "Doctor Who" press line on day one of Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 19, 2018, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker arrive at Comic-Con International in San Diego. (Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Chris Chibnall, the showrunner on Doctor Who, has confirmed that he'll be returning for another series of the BBC's veteran sci-fi show.

Chibnall was previously best known for creating ITV drama Broadchurch, as well as writing several episodes of Doctor Who under previous producers Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat.

He took charge of the show in 2016, bringing in Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, making her debut as the first female Doctor in series 11 of the show.

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“I do know I’m coming back for a third season,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

“Yeah, absolutely. We are already planning the stories. Once you see the end of this series, you’ll realize there are some stories we’re already setting in train for next series. We have very big, ambitious plans for our third series together.

“It will be next year sometime, hopefully, unless my holiday goes on for a really long time, which is always tempting.”

The Haunting of Villa Diodati (Credit: BBC)
The Haunting of Villa Diodati (Credit: BBC)

However, ratings have fallen drastically over Chibnall's tenure on the show.

Having begun at over 8 million viewers for the 2018 series, in which Whittaker was introduced, the show's last episode, The Haunting of Villa Diodati, brought in just 3.8 million overnight.

That's a million viewers down from the first episode of the current series, the two-part Spyfall.

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It follows news that Whittaker will be returning for a third season as the regenerating time lord.

“Yes, I’m doing another season,” she confirmed last month.

“That might be a massive exclusive that I’m not supposed to say, but it’s unhelpful for me to say [I don’t know] because it would be a massive lie! [Laughs] I absolutely adore it. At some point these shoes are going to be handed on, but it’s not yet. I’m clinging on tight!”

In the revived series universe, Doctors have had a maximum of three series in the Tardis, so it's likely a third season would be the last for Whittaker.